| Home |  |
About the Center | |
Faculty Members | |
Patient Care | |
Education and Training | |
Research and Clinical Trials |
PMNC In the News
| 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | PMNC Newsletter - Spring 2010
2013 News Archives
May 16, 2013
If neuroimaging shows brain tissue injury, the insult should be called a stroke, even if no symptoms exist, according to an expert consensus document from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA). Scott E. Kasner, MD,
director of the Penn Stroke Center,
co-chaired the
writing committee for the report.
Click for article
May 14, 2013
In a Reader's Digest story about a WWII veteran's blast concussion during combat and related long-term issues, Douglas Smith, MD, professor of Neurosurgery and director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair is interviewed.
Click for article
May 10, 2013
University of Pennsylvania neurologist Nabila Dahodwala, MD, spoke with WHYY about the benefits of a dance class designed for people with Parkinson's disease.
Click for article
May 9, 2013
David Yusko, PsyD, clinical director at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, spoke with the Cleveland Plain Dealer for a story on the recently discovered kidnapped victims in Cleveland, Ohio, and the issues they face as they try and heal from the ordeal.
Click for article
May 7, 2013
Adrian Raine, PhD, a professor in the department of Psychiatry, talked with Scientific American for a Q&A on “The Anatomy of Violence" and the brain mechanisms behind these violent acts.
Click for article
May 6, 2013
Neurosurgeons can visualize important pathways in the brain using an imaging technique called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), to better adapt brain tumor surgeries and preserve language, visual and motor function while removing cancerous tissue.
Click for press release
Click for article
April 29, 2013
Brain scans may reveal which anti-smoking ads are more effective, suggests a new study led by Daniel D. Langleben, MD, a psychiatrist in the Center for Studies of Addiction, and researchers from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at Penn.
Click for press release
Click for article
April 25, 2013
Repurposing an existing drug, researchers, including Whitney E. Parker, an MD/PhD candidate in Neurology at Penn,
reported that they had prevented seizures in an extremely rare form of epilepsy and suggested future lines of attack against more common types of the disorder.
Click for article
April 24, 2013
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) in a precise region of the brain appears to reduce caloric intake and prompt weight loss in obese animal models, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, including Tracy L. Bale, PhD, associate professor of neuroscience in the Perelman School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry .
Click for press release
April 24, 2013
A gene therapy study, led by Jean Bennett, MD, Phd, F.M. Kirby professor of Ophthalmology, focused on finding a cure for a rare congenital blinding disease has been recognized as one of the ten most outstanding clinical research projects of the year by the Clinical Research Forum (CRF).
Click for article
April 23, 2013
In continuing coverage of the Boston bombings, Steven Berkowitz, MD, director of the Penn Center for Youth and Family Trauma Response and Recovery, was a guest on WHYY’s Voices in the Family to discuss the emotional vulnerability that stretches beyond Boston and ways to transcend this national trauma.
Click for segment
April 23, 2013
Martha Farah, PhD, director of Penn's Center for Neuroscience and Society, will lead a new interdisciplinary program to teach non-scientist grad students how the brain works.
Click for article
April 17, 2013
CBS 3 spoke with Steven Berkowitz, MD, director of the Penn Center for Youth and Family Trauma Response and Recovery, about coping with high emotions in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon attacks.
Click for article
April 17, 2013
Does exertion of the marathon add another layer of trauma or does it obscure the pain? In continuing coverage of the bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon, the Huffington Post spoke with David Yusko, PsyD, clinical director at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, to get a mental health perspective.
Click for article
April 16, 2013
Martin Cheatle, PhD was interviewed by the Delaware News Journal about chronic stress and the impact it has on overall physical and mental health, even altering how we perceive pain.
Click for article
April 15, 2013
Several cognitive behavioral therapies, including prolonged exposure therapy, have been shown to work in treating people with post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). However, a new study led by Edna Foa, PhD, found that the majority of mental health professionals do not use such evidence-based treatments when working with patients, and instead opt for individualized psychotherapy, which focuses on the underlying causes of problems and symptoms.
Click for article
April 11, 2013
The Philadelphia Tribune reports, for Parkinson's Awareness Month, that Nabilia Dahodwala, MD, assistant professor of Neurology in Penn Medicine’s Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center (PDMDC) has a particular interest in understanding the factors contributing to health disparities seen in PD.
Click for article
April 10, 2013
A variation in the gene ABCA7 causes a twofold increase in the risk of late onset Alzheimer disease among African Americans, according to a meta-analysis by a team of researchers including experts from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania led by Gerard Schellenberg, PhD, professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
Click for press release
April 9, 2013
Doug Smith, MD, Director of Penn Center for Brain Injury, spoke with 6ABC about how the link between repeated mild head trauma and long-term brain injury in team sports is not clear cut.
Click for article
April 3, 2013
Frances Jensen, MD and Amita Sehgal, PhD were interviewed about President Obama's proposed effort to map the brain's activity in unprecedented detail, as a step toward finding better ways to treat such conditions as Alzheimer's, autism, stroke, and traumatic brain injuries.
Click for article - Philadelphia Inquirer
Click for article - NBC10.com
April 2, 2013
Penn Medicine researchers, including
senior study author Maria N. Geffen, PhD, assistant professor of Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery, have pinpointed brain mechanisms that make the auditory system sensitive to behaviorally relevant sounds.
Click for press release
April 2, 2013
Penn Medicine News reports on a study, led by
Steven Brem, MD, professor of Neurosurgery, chief of the Division of Neurosurgical Oncology and co-director of the Penn Brain Tumor Center, which shows that a personalized brain mapping technique preserves function following brain tumor surgery.
Click for press release
April 1, 2013
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that a form of encephalitis caused by the immune system would have remained mysterious, but researchers at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania had discovered anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis in 2005 and created a test for it in 2007. They had also identified a series of treatments that helped most patients. Neuro-oncologist Josep Dalmau, MD, PhD, adjunct professor of Neurology, and his team at Penn went on to diagnoses hundreds with the disorder.
Click for article
March 28, 2013
WHYY Radio reports that David Wolk, MD, assistant professor of Neurology, Gordon Baltuch, MD, PhD, professor of Neurosurgery, and other Penn researchers will test an approach called "deep brain stimulation" in Alzheimer's patients.
Click for article
March 28, 2013
Virginia Lee, PhD, director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research and a professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, spoke with Penn Medicine News about research findings showing that a Parkinson's disease protein gums up the major garbage disposal system within the cells.
Click for press release
March 27, 2013
Certified Primary Stroke Centers are three times more likely to administer clot-busting treatment for strokes than non-certified centers, reports a new study by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine, led by Michael T. Mullen, MD, assistant professor of Neurology.
Click for article
Click for press release
March 22, 2013
Steven Messe, MD, assistant professor of Neurology, co-authored an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine, discussing the results of two long-awaited clinical trials, testing a closure device versus medication to prevent stroke recurrence in young stroke survivors who have an opening in the atrial wall.
Click for press release
March 20, 2013
David Wolk, MD, assistant professor of Neurology and assistant director of the Penn Memory Center, was interviewed in a TodayShow.com report about the use of deep-brain stimulation
in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
Click for article
March 18, 2013
A series of studies, led by Murray Grossman, MD, EdD, professor of Neurology and director of the Penn FTLD Center, demonstrate improved detection of the second most common form of dementia, providing diagnostic specificity that clears the way for refined clinical trials testing targeted treatments.
Click for press release
March 18, 2013
The Atlantic reports
that researchers at the University of Pennsylvania – including H. Branch Coslett, MD, professor of Neurology, and Roy Hamilton, MD, assistant professor of Neurology, have shown that suppressing the brain's "filter" can improve performance in creative tasks.
Click for article
Click for press release
March 18, 2013
Injecting synthetic tau fibrils into animal models induces Alzheimer's-like tau tangles and imitates the spread of tau pathology, according to researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, including John Q. Trojanowski, MD, PhD.
Click for press release
March 13, 2013
Huffington Post reports that David Raizen, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Neurology, and colleagues have found a molecular reason for why our bodies need to "make up" for lost sleep. The findings, published in the journal Current Biology, were conducted in nematode round worms called Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans).
Click for press release
Click for article
March 13, 2013
“You are what you eat,” the saying goes, but is what you eat playing a role in how much you sleep? Watch Penn Medicine’s Michael Grandner, PhD, a member of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology, discuss the latest info on sleep and diet on the Dr. Oz Show.
Click for clip
March 8, 2013
Penn is becoming a leader in online learning. One example is a course on the psychology and neuroscience behind ADHD, taught by Anthony L. Rostain, MD, MA, professor of psychiatry and pediatrics in Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine.
Click for article
March 8, 2013
David F. Dinges, PhD, professor and chief, Division of Sleep and Chronobiology in the Department of Psychiatry, spoke with the Washington Post about the study of sleep deprivation.
Click for article
March 5, 2013
The research of Steven Arnold, MD, director of the Penn Memory Center and professor in Neurology and Psychiatry, is highlighted in a Reader's Digest article, which reports that an unhealthy diet is not only bad for your waist, but it may also trigger Alzheimer's disease.
Click for article
March 5, 2013
Michael A. Grandner, PhD, an instructor of Psychiatry and a member of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at Penn, spoke with the Huffington Post about a new National Sleep Foundation survey showing that people who identify as exercisers reported better sleep than those who consider themselves non-exercisers.
Click for article - Huffington Post
Click for article - CBS News
March 4, 2013
J. Russell Ramsay, PhD, co-director of Penn’s Adult ADHD Treatment and Research Program, commented in a USA Today article about a new study which found that attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in childhood lingers into adulthood for many and is linked to an increased risk for a wide range of psychiatric disorders.
Click for article
February 28, 2013
David F. Dinges, PhD, chief, Division of Sleep and Chronobiology, spoke with National Geographic about psychological challenges that a manned mission to Mars may present.
Click for article
February 28, 2013
Clifford S. Deutschman, MD, professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care and director of the Sepsis Research Program, was interviewed by BBC Radio “Newsday" discussing new research that has shown aggressive intervention in an intensive care unit may lead to PTSD symptoms.
Click for article
February 25, 2013
The Philadelphia Inquirer highlights a new study by Penn Medicine researchers, led by Michael Grandner, PhD, Instructor in Psychiatry and member of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology, that looked at the connection between sleep and dietary nutrients.
Click for article
February 21, 2013
Carmen McLean, PhD, assistant professor of Psychology in Psychiatry, was quoted in a Daily Pennsylvanian report on how Penn Medicine is collaborating with the Annenberg Center for Performing Arts through “ReEntry,” a play that highlights the medical and psychological issues facing veterans returning from deployment.
Click for article
February 14, 2013
Anjan Chatterjee, M.D., professor of Neurology, was interviewed in a SELF magazine report about Adderall and its misperception as a "Get Ahead" drug.
Click for article
February 13, 2013
NeuroNow reports on a study published online in JAMA Neurology, led by David Irwin, MD, fellow in the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research and Neurology, which reported no evidence to support concerns that neurodegenerative disease associated proteins transmit Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.
Click for article
February 12, 2013
Steven Brem, MD, co-director of the Penn Brain Tumor Center and professor of Neurosurgery, is quoted in a Chicago Tribune story discussing a new mathematical model that accurately predicts the growth of the most aggressive and common type of brain tumor, a breakthrough which researchers say will help doctors combat the tumor more effectively.
Click for article
February 11, 2013
David F. Dinges, PhD, professor and chief, Division of Sleep and Chronobiology, was a featured guest on NPR’s “Science Friday” discussing the connection between sleep and memory. Dr. Dinges also spoke with the New York Times about jet lag and sleep deprivation.
Click for article - NPR
Click for article - NY Times
February 8, 2013
CBS3 reports on an autoimmune neurological condition called Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis discovered at Penn by Josep Dalmau, MD, PhD, professor of Neurology.
Click for article
February 6, 2013
US News and World Report, via HealthDay news syndicate, reports that a new analysis, led by John Trojanowski, MD, PhD, co-director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research and Penn's Institute on Aging, did not unearth any evidence to support concerns that neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's might be infectious.
Click for article
Click for press release
February 5, 2013
A new study, led by Michael A. Grandner, PhD, instructor in Psychiatry and member of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology, shows for the first time that certain nutrients may play an underlying role in short and long sleep duration and that people who report eating a large variety of foods – an indicator of an overall healthy diet – had the healthiest sleep patterns.
Click for press release
February 1, 2013
Michael Thase, MD, professor of Psychiatry, talks to 6ABC about the use of low dose injections of ketamine to help patients who suffer from depression and cannot tolerate antidepressants, and the serious concerns associated with its use.
Click for article
February 1, 2013
Michael A. Grandner, PhD, research associate at the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology, talks to the Huffington Post about sleep vs. pulling an all-nighter.
Click for article
January 25, 2013
Mahendra Bhati, MD, assistant professor of Clinical Psychiatry, spoke to Penn Medicine News about a non-invasive, medication-free treatment for major depression, synchronized transcranial magnetic stimulation (sTMS).
Click for press release
January 22, 2013
The Associated Press reports on the first U.S. experiments with "brain pacemakers" for Alzheimer's. Toronto researchers have teamed with four U.S. medical centers — Johns Hopkins University, the University of Pennsylvania, University of Florida and Arizona's Banner Health System — to try DBS in a part of the brain called the fornix, one of those memory hubs, in 40 patients.
Click for article
January 21, 2013
C. Neill Epperson, MD, director, Penn Center for Women’s Behavioral Wellness, was quoted in an article in Fit Pregnancy discussing how new mothers can help fight postpartum depression and stay healthy.
Click for article
January 18, 2013
An article in the Philadelphia Daily News details ongoing research at Penn Medicine’s Center for the Studies of Addiction using fMRI to understand how the brain responds to various drugs of addiction. Teresa Franklin, PhD, research assistant professor of Neuroscience in Psychiatry, Anna Rose Childress, PhD, research professor of Psychology in Psychiatry, and Daniel Langleben, MD, associate professor of Psychiatry, are quoted in the article.
Click for article
A Penn Medicine study, led by Virginia Lee, PhD, shows that the trasmission of tangles in mice with Alzheimer's provides a more authentic model of tau pathology.
Click for press release
January 10, 2013
Coverage in USA Today and a front page article in the Philadelphia Inquirer detail a new study led by Penn Medicine researchers, including David F. Dinges, PhD and Mathias Basner, MD, PhD, MSc, that analyzed sleep and activity levels in astronauts in a simulated 520-day mission to Mars. The research was also covered by numerous national and international media outlets, including the Associated Press, BBC News, the Huffington Post, the Daily Mail UK, Wired online, US News & World Report, Bloomberg, Scientific American, Science News, Popular Science, WHYY radio, The Atlantic, the LA Times, and others.
Click for press release
Click for article - USA Today
Click for article - Philadelphia Inquirer
January 8, 2013
A new study by Penn Medicine researchers, led by Daniel Weintraub, MD, is the first to show in a large sample that people with untreated Parkinson's were no more likely to have an increased impulsivity than people without the disease.
Click for press release
January 3, 2013
In its "Research Year in Review" coverage, Chemical & Engineering News highlighted research by Virginia Lee, PhD, which described how a transmission model of misfolded proteins in Parkinson's showed two main hallmarks of the disease - death of dopamine neurons and disease protein clumps.
Click for article
January 3, 2013
A front page story in the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that brain injury researchers, including a cadre at the University of Pennsylvania, are lifting the veil [on brain injury], and what they're seeing is already "dramatically" changing American sports, said Douglas H. Smith, MD.
Click for article
January 2, 2013
When trying to determine the root cause of a person's dementia, using an MRI can effectively and non-invasively screen patients for Alzheimer's disease or Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD), according to a new study by Penn researchers led by Corey McMillan, PhD, of Penn’s Frontotemporal Degeneration Center. The research was also covered by Medscape and MedPage Today.
Click for press release
Click for article
January 2, 2013
Anthony Rostain, MD was a featured guest on 6ABC’s “Inside Story” program that focused on societal issues, including treatment resources available for people with mental illnesses in the U.S., in the aftermath of the Newtown, CT school shooting.
Click for clip
